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Dances ˇ Rumba
It is believed that the rumba
originates from a blend of flamenco (taken to
Cuba by the Spanish) and the rhythms of the African
slaves. The word rumba comes from Spain and originally
did not refer to the dance, but rather to women
who led ‘loose’ lives, which therefore
labeled the rumba as something frivolous and full
of prejudice. Initially, the term was a synonym
for a popular celebration and for the music that
was played, sung and danced there. The son groups took some elements of this music and created
more concrete structures, which were then labeled
rumba. The term also encompasses the guaguanco
and the conga.
In Cuba there are many dances referred to rumba,
which are shared into three main styles:
- the yambú
- the columbia and
- the guaguanco
The most popular style of them is the latter, which combinas elements from
Spain, the rumbera costume and the handkerchief.
.
The rhythm is made up of half a bar of 4x4, that
is, in two beats. On the first beat two half-beat
steps are taken (fast) and on the second beat
only one step is taken (slow). This slow step
is taken on a half-beat and on the next half-beat there's
no step taken but the pelvis keeps moving to
mark the hip of the leg that just moved.
The authentic Cuban rumba is not a salon dance.
In the rumba, man and woman dance without touching
each other. But due to the reluctance of upper
classes to accept the dance (they regarded it
as promiscous and obscene) a new way of dancing
the rumba emerged: rumba
as a salon dance.
The rhythm is made up of
half a bar of 4x4, that is, in two beats. On the
first beat two half-beat steps are taken (fast)
and on the second beat only one step is taken
(slow). This slow step is taken on a half-beat
and on the next half-beat no step is taken but
the pelvis keeps moving to mark the hip of the
leg that just moved.
Another possibity to dance the rumba is to practise danzón
moves, and therefore carried certain European
color. On the other hand, in the U.S. a new style
emerged, known as the slow rumba, which later
spread to Europe: musically this style is a slightly
master bolero (also called "rhythmic bolero") but
the dance is very similar to the danzón,
thus coinciding with the basic steps of the salon
rumba.
Thus it can be said that there are two
dancing styles for the rumba:
- the slow rumba which is slower and more romantic and
- the Cuban rumba which is faster and bouncier
The dancers
are positioned just like in other Caribbean dances
such as the merengue, cha cha cha and the mambo:
the bodies stand close together and the arms are
held up in tropical style, accompanied by the
typical Caribbean hip movement.
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